Human & Serpentine
by NinjagoZaneFan14
Summary: Cole and Jason were once very close twin brothers. But after tragedy and bad choices, a 16 year-old Jason runs away never to be seen again. A few years later, Cole has become a ninja and tried to forget the pain and sorrows of his past. But his past returns to confront him in a way he didn't expect.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"NO!" A young boy shouted in alarm, sitting up in bed a moment afterwards.

The door to the boy's room opened.

"Jassson? Are you alright my sson?" The boy's concerned mother asked from the doorway.

Jason took a couple of breaths, looking around. "I had a bad dream."

His mother walked into the room. Moonlight shimmered from the window onto the navy-blue walls as she navigated her way around the toys on the floor to her son's bedside.

"What about?" She asked him quietly.

Her son hesitated then said in a trembling sort of way. "...P-people were mad at me because of m-my arm."

"Your arm?" His mother asked, her eyes glancing at her son's right arm then she continued speaking in her calm, accented voice. "...You mean your sscales?"

Her son nodded, upset. His mother put her light-blue hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"T-they were going to hurt me." Her son said.

His mother frowned for a moment then smiled.

"You are ssafe here, my sson," she said. "No one iss going to hurt you here."

"But- but what about at school?" Her son asked. "...Everyone there says I'm a freak. They tease me! They say snakes are monsters!"

"Do you believe any of what they ssay?" His mother asked him gently.

Her son was frozen, too ashamed to nod or shake his head. His mother sat on the edge of his bed.

"...Sserpentine were once enemiess of Ninjago" She said calmly. "They were cruel and viciouss... They sshowed no mercy to the humanss of Ninjago. ...But there are ssome who are different than them, like you and I. And mosst of our kind, the Illussiobrai."

"But.. But if the Illusii- Illusioo- Illusiobrai are good. ...Then why are they scared of us?" Her son asked, quietly.

His mother bit her lip, trying to find a way to explain these things to her young child.

"...Ssome do not believe that the Illussiobrai are good. ...They think we are evil ...Ssome look at us and ssee we are different than themsselvess. ...And they laugh at that... Or they are sscared and frightened of usss and laugh to make themsselvess feel better."

Tears appeared in her son's eyes as he looked at her.

"...But why? ...I don't understand." He asked.

His mother frowned. She couldn't find a response. She didn't have one. Her heart sank as she saw her son start crying softly.

"Ssshh. It's okay. Everything will be alright, you'll ssee," his mother said comfortingly, and then she suddenly smiled as she thought of something. "I know ssomething that will make you feel better. There'ss sstill ssome cake left. Do you want ssome?"

She finally saw some relief in her child's eyes as they lit up in excitement.

"Really?" He asked, wiping the tears from his eyes.

His mother nodded.

"Cake?!" A different young voice squeaked.

Jason and his mother looked across the room and watched Jason's fraternal twin brother, Cole fall out of his bed. Then he got up and raced over to them.

Their mother blinked at Cole. "Have you been awake thiss whole time?"

Cole looked sheepish. "Maybe?" He grinned. "Can I have some cake too?"

His mother sighed then nodded with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"This is so good." Cole said, eating a large mouthful of cake, sitting on a chair in the kitchen.

Jason nodded in agreement, a huge smile on his face.

Ivy smiled; she loved seeing her children so happy.

"Where's dad?" Jason asked.

Ivy frowned; she hadn't been prepared to answer this question. But then she smiled again.

"Oh, he had to go and do ssomething for hisss work. In fact he'll be home ssoon sso run along upsstairss." She said. "I'll try to make another cake tomorrow."

The two boys groaned but did as they were told, putting aside their plates and hugging their mother before they left the kitchen.

Ivy sat there for a few moments in silence, a frown slowly appearing on her face. She heard a knock at the door and she quickly got up and raced to it. Opening the door to find a face she'd seen a thousand times.

"Ivy" a man said bittersweetly.

"Lou!" She replied happily, hugging her husband. "Thank desstiny you are ssafe, tell me about your journey"

Lou entered the house, closing the door behind him and taking off his coat. He looked over at the table and the empty plates.

"Plates?" He questioned aloud.

"Oh. Jassson had a bad dream. I cheered him up with ssome cake," Ivy answered. "Oh and Cole wanted ssome too."

"Jason had a bad dream?" Lou asked. "What about?

Ivy sighed sadly. "About him being sserpentine. But he isss alright now. Tell me what hasss happened."

"First. ...Did they eat all of the cake?" Lou asked, forcing a smile hopefully.

Ivy smiled and got another plate out, putting another slice of cake on it and giving it to Lou.

They both sat down and for a few moments sat there without speaking. Lou picked at the cake with his fork. Ivy frowned.

"...Am I right to asssume there wasss no newss about a cure?" She asked quietly.

Lou closed his eyes, heartache and fatigue appearing on his face. "...No. There was none."

Ivy looked down with a quick sigh.

"...It's not fair, Ivy," Lou said, anger seeping into his voice. "You shouldn't have to deal with this."

"I know," Ivy said with a swallow, putting her hand on his arm supportively. "...But it isss what hasss happened. We musst live with it. We musst try to be happy for what have. ..Sspell or no sspell."

Lou put his other hand on hers with a small sad smile. "You're right. We must try to be happy. ...Spell or no spell..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **A few years later...**

Cole was still in shock. What had started as a awful day of high school had quickly become the worst day of his life. He looked over at his brother, Jason, who was sitting in another chair looking just as shocked as he was.

Their father opened the door in front of them and looked at them sadly.

"Your mother would like to speak to you two."

Cole and Jason looked at each other, then stood up and entered the room ahead of them with their father close behind them. Their mother smiled weakly at them from her bed as they walked in.

"My ssonss," she said quietly as her children came to her bedside.

"Mom," Cole said with a frown.

Ivy took Cole's hand gently and squeezed it a little. "It will be alright."

Tears appeared in Cole's eyes. "You-you're going to be okay aren't you?"

She gave her son a reassuring smile before letting go of his hand and taking Jason's.

"I love you both... ...There isss ssomething I wissh to give you..." Ivy said, taking a silver pocket watch from her nightstand and putting it in Jason's hand.

"Be sstrong.. ...Make me proud, Jassson." She whispered with a smile.

Jason swallowed, fighting back tears as best as he could but despite his efforts, one escaped and ran down his cheek.

Ivy looked at Cole who tried to smile back to her. Ivy slowly reached her hand behind her head and unclasped the silver locket around her neck.

"..Cole.. Take thiss.. Pleassse... ...Never forget me or how much I love you."

Cole's eyes widened as she put the locket in his hand. He looked inside it for a minute and tears started running down his face. He looked away from the family portrait in the locket to his mother and hugged her gently. Jason followed his lead.

Lou looked down, his eyes wet.

"H-how could I forget you? ...I won't, mom. ..I-I promise I won't. _...I promise._ " Cole said through his tears.

Jason couldn't manage to get the words out of his mouth but he looked at her with a very clear look. If he had words he would say. _I'll make you proud mom. I promise._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **A few years later...  
**

It wasn't long ago that Lloyd had saved Ninjago from the Overlord. Cole had some time on his hands so he decided to go visit his dad, Lou, who had been at their old house since his dance studio got damaged in the Overlord's attack. When Cole arrived he didn't waste any time and went inside, where he found a note saying that his father had gone out but would be back in a little while.

Cole went through several rooms; the living room, the dining room and the kitchen that he remembered fondly. He passed by a few closets on his way to the stairs, which he quickly went up. He went through the cream-colored hallway past a few doors until he found a very familiar dark wooden door and opened it.

He found his room exactly as he'd left it before he went to Marty Oppenheimer's. The navy-blue walls remained untouched, the couple of sports posters, music posters and maps still attached to the wall. Although the floor didn't have many toys on it, there was still tons of other random things and trash littered upon the floor. A few action figures, a couple of coats and hoodies, and an old worn out box of random posters were still lying there.

All of it was the same, except for a thick layer of dust that had collected in the meantime.

The light blue curtains were open, letting daylight from the window stream in.

Cole walked over to the window and opened it. A refreshing cool breeze washed over his face as he looked down and admired the garden below him. It had been his mother's garden, and although it hadn't been cared for recently, the rose bushes still somehow seemed as vibrant and brilliant as they had always been.

With a frown, Cole looked back in his room. We walked over to the center of the room and observed the mess. He figured he might as well put some of it away.

He grabbed the old box of posters and photos and walked over to the closet to put the box in. As he was raising the box onto one of the closet shelves, a photo fell from the top of the box and landed onto the wooden floor. He made sure the box was securely on the shelf, then went and took the photo from the ground. As he began to reach up and put it back in the box, he suddenly caught sight of what the photo was.

Cole gasped a little, his eyes widening. He brought the photo closer and looked at it in more detail.

It was his family's portrait taken years ago. Cole's father was standing in front of a light cream-colored background, one hand in Cole's mother's hand and the other on Cole's shoulder supportingly. Cole and his twin brother, Jason stood below them. They were young here, around the age of 10. They were all smiling happily, Cole and Jason looking towards the camera while their parents looked at eachother.

He had seen it before. It was the same photo Cole kept in the locket that his mother had given him.

Cole sighed. _Everything was so much less complicated back then..._ He thought to himself.

It was only a few years ago, when Cole and Jason were 16, that their mother had passed away from a strange illness that apparently had no cure. Cole was still shocked that it had happened. There were no signs of this illness, nor was there a cause.

Cole shook his head and closed his eyes, not wanting to think about the sadness of losing his mom. But despite himself, he looked back at the portrait. His eyes drifted over to Jason in the photo.

Jason. His brother. Cole narrowed his eyebrows in confused anger and bitter sadness. Where did he go? Why did he have to run away?

"Son?" a voice suddenly said.

Cole dropped the photo onto the floor in surprise. He looked up from the floor and saw his father, Lou.

Cole forced a smile sadly. "Dad."

Lou walked over to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you arrived. I'm glad to see you."

"...Yeah it's great to see you too," Cole said, trying not to sound as depressed as he felt but failing.

Lou noticed this immediately and let go of him. He looked at Cole's face. "Are you okay?"

Cole hesitated. Whenever he had brought up anything like this before, Lou had always changed the subject.

"I was just thinking..." He sighed. "...Where do you think he is now?"

"Who?" His father asked.

"Jason," Cole said, although he found it hard to say his brother's name. "...Do you think he's still a thief?"

Lou was surprised. He hadn't expected this question. After all, it seemed so long since he had seen his missing son. The last time he saw Jason was when they had an argument. The same night, Jason ran away and never came back. Lou thought about this painful subject for a long moment then finally sighed.

He wanted to say a lot of different things about this but settled on one answer.

"I don't know," Lou said in almost a muttering tone but tried to smile and gently lead Cole into the other room. "But no need to talk further about it. Come on, I'll make some tea."

"Do.. Do you think... that he'd ever come back? Cole said.

Lou stopped in the doorway with a frown and said nothing for a minute, deep in thought, then shut his eyes. "Cole. We talked about this a long time ago. He's gone, and if he didn't come back then, then there's no way he's coming back now. Now if you don't mind, son. I'd rather not speak of it."

Cole sighed then nodded. "Okay dad. I guess I'll take some of that tea, then."

Lou smiled. "That's the spirit. I'll even let you listen to some new Royal Blacksmiths songs while you're here."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After Lloyd destroyed the Overlord, almost everyone was overjoyed and working on clean-up efforts. Others were never interested in such things. Far away, across Ninjago, was the Desert of Shadow. The area was dry and seemingly never-ending. Large waves of sand would often blow every which way and sometimes slam into giant rocks and stones that stuck up out of the sand. It was vacant except for a large prison. The prison was surrounded by a few guards and it only held one person inside it's sand-colored walls.

The prisoner was a annoyed thief with strange glowing blue eyes and teal blue ninja clothes. He would constantly look around for ways to escape, only to find none. All he could find was the irony that there no roof to his prison, and yet he _still_ couldn't get out.

He was grateful that at least the guards were giving him food and other basic necessities, but he didn't _want_ to be grateful. He wanted to be _free_.

Today he seemed more irritated than ever. The thief angrily kicked a small stone away in frustration. To him, it was all Sensei Wu's fault he was even here. Sensei Wu had locked him in here only a few months ago, but it seemed like eons. The place was pretty much silent except for the occasional sound of the wind and the sounds of the guards' chatter, although it was hard to hear at times.

Suddenly, the thief heard the guards discussing something in confusion and mild alarm.

The thief went to the corner of his prison, the closest he could get to the guards.

"What is going on?" The thief asked.

"There's a really bright light off in the distance," the guard said.

"A bright light?" The thief muttered, both bored and yet intrigued. "You sure that isn't the sun pounding on our heads?"

"We'd better go check it out," another guard said.

"Yeah. You stay here. And you, heh, don't go anywhere, you hear?" the other guard said to the thief with a laugh as he walked away.

The thief growled angrily and kicked another stone. "What a sick joke."

For a few moments he stood there in silence, bored and wondering what the guards would find. Then, the thief started to get a feeling that he wasn't actually alone, and he suddenly heard a voice from above.

"Hey! Time Ninja, are you in here?"

The thief recognized his name and looked up. He saw a familiar face sitting on the top of the wall. One of his only friends since he had become The Time Ninja _._ If you could call him a friend, he was rather self-absorbed.

"Akira! What are you doing here?" Time Ninja called up.

"I was looking for you! The better question is, what are _you_ doing in here?" Akira said, then laughed. "No, wait, don't tell me. You got caught?"

Time Ninja narrowed his eyes in annoyance, not caring for being laughed at. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Didn't _you_ get caught?"

"Well yes, fine, I did. But I was awesome before that, at least. Except for a small chip in my nail that happened during the battle," Akira said, looking at his shimmering hand.

"I thought you were made out of crystal, how can you get a chip in your nail?" Time Ninja asked in confusion.

Akira looked offended. "Excuse me. I am a _DIAMOND_. And if you must know, fine, it wasn't a chip but a small scuff at least. I mean it _has_ to be, why is it less glamorous than normal _after_ Sensei Wu's bo staff knocked into it, then?"

Time Ninja gave a loud sigh and instead tried to bring the conversation to another topic. "Why were you looking for me?"

"I'm taking over Ninjago and I want your help," Akira said with a grin.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lou parked his car in the parking lot of a local music store. Cole was in the passenger seat, looking at his phone casually.

"I shouldn't be long. All I need is a part for my piano," Lou said then continued hesitantly. "You can stay here if you want, as long as you don't mind the heat."

Cole looked up from his phone and looked at the store's sign.

 _Clarice's Musical Supply Store_

He'd seen the sign a million times and he'd known the lady that owned the place for as long as he could remember. Cole could remember the hours he and his family spent in there. When he and his brother used to just have fun and mess around with the instruments, much to their parent's alarm and mild embarrassment. The owner never seemed to mind the messing around, though, and said it was harmless.

The memories stung Cole's heart a little, but he swallowed and smiled while unlocking his car door and jumping out carefully. "No, I'll come in."

Lou's eyebrows rose but he nodded a little and got out himself. They both walked up to the door, which Lou opened, and they both walked inside.

 _Ring-a-ring_ rang the bell above the door.

Cole took a deep breath and let himself soak in what was around him. All the smells of the wood, the polishing solutions and wax, the distant and pleasant smell of flowers from perfume. It was all a comforting mix of old and modern that Cole found so happy from his distant memories.

The front desk was empty so Lou approached it and hit the small bell gently to try and get the owner's attention _._

"Clarice?" Lou called out.

A happy and cheerful voice replied from the backroom " _Just a minute!_ "

The voice was so familiar to Cole although he hadn't heard it in a few years. Clarice was a very humble and nice person, always ready to give visitors some tea free of charge and ready to sing and dance at any moment's notice to cheer someone up. She was a close family friend and was also a fantastic babysitter the few times that Cole's parents were out of town, she made the best cookies and some of the best tea. Second to their mom's lemon honey tea, but that was a very high standard.

Cole walked over to the front desk himself and looked at the small TV showing the local news. The screen was fuzzy and full of static as old TVs usually are. The reporters were talking about some sort of lizard rescue near a river.

In other words, a slow news day. Which Cole was thankful for, all he needed was some sort of crisis in Ninjago that he'd have to abandon his visit for. The Overlord was gone, what could happen?

Finally, Clarice emerged from the backroom, readjusted her glasses and looked at Lou with a smile. "You're here for that part you ordered, right?"

She suddenly noticed Cole and her eyes widened with a small gasp, rushing over to hug him. "Cole? Is that you? You're here! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?"

Cole resigned to his fate with a smile and let himself be hugged tightly. "Hi, Mrs. Oliver. I'm good. Ah- um, hey could you hug me a _little_ less tight, please?"

Clarice let go of him. "Oh of course. I'm sorry. But it's so good to see you! Your father's has told me what good you've done for Ninjago. Would you like some tea?"

"That's nice of you, but I can't just-" Cole tried to refuse politely.

"-No, no, I insist. You can take it to go with you. Besides, I could use your help getting the part from the backroom, anyway," Clarice said, putting some tea together to steep. She looked over at Lou. "Would that be alright?"

"Oh? Fine, fine," Lou said, looking at sheet music.

"Come," Clarice said and walked into the backroom.

Cole followed her. Clarice moved a few things on the floor aside, then she gestured to big box near the back door.

"The part is a bit heavier than I thought," she said then looked at him. "You seem like you could lift it."

Cole nodded and went over to the box and picked it up.

"Thank you," Clarice said then raised a eyebrow. "...You know how fragile glass can be? Same goes for crystals, sometimes. Some are strong. Some are weak."

"...Uhh. Yeah, I guess so," Cole said with a confused expression but smiled. "You're welcome."

They walked out of the backroom and Cole went out to put the part in the trunk of his father's car. By the time Cole came back inside, both Lou and Clarice were in front of TV, staring at it.

"What is it?" Cole asked.

They didn't have to answer because once Cole saw the TV he understood.

"- _Ninjago City crystallized!_ _Buildings covered in crystal! Everywhere!_ " The reporter was saying off-screen as the TV showed clips of Ninjago City. " _No one has been hurt. But we do not know who is doing this- Wait, zoom in there, Robert."_

The TV camera suddenly zoomed in on a roof of a building where a silver-clothed ninja was laughing while crystallizing a roof. The ninja seemed to notice the camera and faced it.

" _What the.. Robert! Are you seeing this! He looks like he's made otta' glass! Or somethin'!_ " The reported continued.

Cole's eyes widened as he realized the reporter was right. Who was this ninja anyway?

" _Wait. What's that? Over there!_ " The reporter asked.

The camera panned a little to show another ninja jump onto the roof, this time a teal-blue colored one. Clarice handed some tea to Cole.

"Here," she said.

As Cole directed his attention to the tea, Lou suddenly seemed to tense. But when Cole looked over, there was nothing to be seen as the two ninja left the view.

"Time solider," Lou stated angrily then looked at Cole and tried to look normal.

"A what?" Cole asked.

Lou didn't reply and looked back to the TV.

" _So far, we have seen their appearances, but know nothing else. We have no idea of their motives-_ " The reporter continued, talking about possible reasons why these people could be doing this.

But it wasn't for the reporter to speculate. Cole sighed a little.

 _So much for a vacation,_ he thought to himself.

"I gotta get over there," Cole said, sipping a big gulp of tea before placing the cup down on the counter. "Thank you, Mrs. Oliver, but they need me."

"Oh, of course," Clarice said. "Come back anytime."

Cole started to head back out the door. A distressed looking Lou followed him, waving farewell to Clarice as he left.

Lou and Cole sat down into their seats in the car. While Cole got out his phone to call his friends about the problem, his father huffed a breath sadly.

"I suppose the work of a ninja is never done," he said.

Cole lowered his phone and looked at Lou with a frown. "...I'm really sorry I couldn't stay longer, dad. I promise I'll come back soon, okay?"

Lou looked distant. "No, I understand. You have a job now. You have responsibility. ...There's not much time anymore to spend with your old man. You've got more important things to take care of."

"No, dad, you're just as important. I just-"

Cole's phone rang in his hand. He saw the caller ID and picked it up.

"Hello?"

 _"Cole! Whew. Thank goodness you answered. Did you hear what's happening in Ninjago City?"_ Jay's voice said, sounding urgent.

"Yeah, they were talking about it on the news. I'm coming back to help you guys right away."

 _"Oh! Okay, good! But, wait, what about your vacation?"_

"...I'll just have to continue it another time. I'll there as soon as I can," Cole said and ended the call.

He turned to Lou, awkwardly. "Um. Dad, don't suppose I could borrow your car? I need to get there as fast as possible."

His father looked at him. "Why don't you take yours?"

Cole blinked. "Mine?"

"You know, the car I gave you when you were learning how to drive."

"...Oh.. _That_ car," Cole said with a grimace. "...Um. I mean it's a _nice_ car..."

"Of course! Only the best for my son," Lou said with his chin held high as he started the car to leave the parking lot.

"Yep... It's the best," Cole said with a forced grin then turned to look out the window.

 _But not for long..._ he thought in alarm.


	7. Chapter 7

Lou and Cole drove into the garage, stopped the car and got out.

"Look, still right there where you left it," Lou said, gesturing to a car-shaped lump next to them underneath a large sheet.

Cole gulped quietly and stood still. "Yep, it's still there. Right where I left it…"

"Well, aren't you going to uncover it?" His father asked, confused.

"Right. Um. Sure," Cole said and walked over to the lump then started slowly pulling off the large sheet, cringing.

Once unveiled unenthusiastically, there the car was.

It was a white older-looking sleek car, definitely not Cole's style at all. But that wasn't the real problem.

It was dusty, and coated with old mud near the flattened wheels, which wouldn't have been even all that bad if it weren't for a giant dent in side and a shattered window in the back.

Cole braced himself for his father's reaction.

Lou gasped. "Cole!" He started inspecting the damage.

"Um, dad, I was going to tell you-" Cole started to say, looking away.

"-What on earth happened?" Lou asked, petting the dent.

"I, uh… Wasn't being careful?" Cole explained sheepishly, a bit ashamed. "I was kind of… Being stupid and sped too sharp on a corner?"

Lou looked at him in disappointment. "Cole…" He said scoldingly.

"Sorry, dad," Cole said, looking down.

Lou sighed, sparing him the 'You could have been killed.' rant for time reasons. "Well I suppose this isn't going on the road in a timely manner. Take my car." He took the keys out of his pocket. "But I don't want to see a scratch on it when it gets back, understand?"

Cole nodded and took the keys with a grateful grin. "Thanks, dad!" He ran to his father's car and got in.

"Not a scratch do you hear me!?" Lou proclaimed as Cole started the car and backed it up.

Turning up the radio, Cole nodded and drove away.

He glanced at the rearview window showing him his house sadly but then focused on the road. "Don't worry guys, I'm on my way."


End file.
